Monte Carlo simulation of the effects of pulse and platform jitter on holographic aperture ladar systems

Jason W. Stafford; Bradley D. Duncan; Matthew P. Dierking

doi:10.1117/12.818130

2 May 2009 Monte Carlo simulation of the effects of pulse and platform jitter on holographic aperture ladar systems

Jason W. Stafford, Bradley D. Duncan, Matthew P. Dierking

Proceedings Volume 7323, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XIV; 73230O (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818130
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2009, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Holographic Aperture Ladar (HAL) is an intriguing variant of Synthetic Aperture Ladar (SAL). As with conventional SAL, HAL systems seek to increase cross-range scene resolution by synthesizing a large effective aperture through the motion of a smaller receiver, and through the subsequent proper phasing and correlation of the detected signals in post-processing. Unlike in conventional SAL, however, holographic aperture ladar makes use of a two-dimensional translating sensor array, not simply a translating point detector. In real world applications less than ideal conditions will be detrimental to final image quality. As the HAL transform requires precise knowledge of each data collection site in order to properly phase a possibly large collection of coherent sub-images, laser pulse jitter and system platform vibration are two factors that may result in non-optimum final image quality. To examine these effects, we first define the following metrics which, in part, quantify final image quality: cross-range resolution (ΔCR); peak-to-integrated-side-lobe-ratio (PISLR); peak-to-side-lobe-ratio (PSLR); and, pupil plane RMS wavefront error. We then numerically examine the effects of data collection site uncertainty in a HAL system via Monte Carlo simulation. In our model we consider only a single point object, though we use otherwise realistic parameters for sub-aperture diameter, range, wavelength, etc. The effects of positional uncertainty on the image quality metrics are then calculated, and the results compared to ideal expectations. We will present characteristic results for several different synthetic aperture diameters and will identify regions of diffraction-limited performance by considering Marechal's well known λ/14 RMS wavefront error criterion.

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Jason W. Stafford, Bradley D. Duncan, and Matthew P. Dierking "Monte Carlo simulation of the effects of pulse and platform jitter on holographic aperture ladar systems", Proc. SPIE 7323, Laser Radar Technology and Applications XIV, 73230O (2 May 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.818130

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KEYWORDS

Wavefronts

Image quality

LIDAR

Diffraction

Point spread functions

Chromium

Monte Carlo methods

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